2017 MASERATI LEVANTE EATS DUST BEHIND COMPETITORS

AS MUCH AS THE PORSCHE CAYENNE AND VOLVO XC90 REINVIGORATED SALES FOR PORSCHE AND VOLVO, MASERATI INTENDS FOR THE 2017 LEVANTE CROSSOVER TO BE THE SPARK FOR THE ITALIAN AUTOMAKER’S REVIVAL IN THE AUTOMOTIVE MARKET.

Via Alice Morais

During the last years, Porsche and Volvo have reinvigorated sales due to models Cayenne and XC90, respectively. For 2017, Maserati aims the same result with its Levante. While Levante competes in a different segment to the XC90, the car is the perfect rival to the Cayenne. That’s bad news though, because Maseratti is not winning this fight.

Credits must be given to the carmaker for not producing its latest SUV as casual as the Ghibli sedan, though they share the same platform. But honestly, the car is still quite plain compared to what the com- petitors are offering, particularly the Cayenne.

The base model Levante is powered by a 3.0L twin-turbo V6 that cooks up 345hp and 368lb-ft torque, while the Levante S does 430hp and 264lb-ft torque from the same block. Starting price is at $72,000, which goes up to $83,000 for the S model.

The least powerful Cayenne runs on a 3.6L V6 that may only generate 300hp and 395lb-ft torque, but there are way more trim levels on offer with the most powerful Turbo S dishing out 570hp and 590lb-ft torque. Pricing begins at $58,300 and tops off at $157,300.

For the Cayenne S trim level that costs about as much as the base Levante, there is 420hp and 406lb-ft torque on tap from its 3.6L V6. The fact is: Maserati is taking a big risk with its pricing strategy, especially for a vehicle so crucial to revive the company’s ambitions.